L. Frank Baum Read Online Free

another," said the wizard.
    "But I cannot; I've thrown away my tools."
    "Then what shall I do?" asked the wizard.
    "I do not know, unless you offer a reward for the dog."
    "But I have no money," said the wizard.
    "Offer some of your compounds, then," suggested the glass-blower,
who was making a noose in the rope for his head to go through.
    "The only thing I can spare," replied the wizard, thoughtfully, "is
a Beauty Powder."
    "What!" cried the glass-blower, throwing down the rope, "have you
really such a thing?"
    "Yes, indeed. Whoever takes the powder will become the most
beautiful person in the world."
    "If you will offer that as a reward," said the glass-blower,
eagerly, "I'll try to find the dog for you, for above everything
else I long to be beautiful."
    "But I warn you the beauty will only be skin deep," said the wizard.
    "That's all right," replied the happy glass-blower; "when I lose my
skin I shan't care to remain beautiful."
    "Then tell me where to find my dog and you shall have the powder,"
promised the wizard.
    So the glass-blower went out and pretended to search, and by-and-by
he returned and said:
    "I've discovered the dog. You will find him in the mansion of Miss
Mydas."
    The wizard went at once to see if this were true, and, sure enough,
the glass dog ran out and began barking at him. Then the wizard
spread out his hands and chanted a magic spell which sent the dog
fast asleep, when he picked him up and carried him to his own room
on the top floor of the tenement house.
    Afterward he carried the Beauty Powder to the glass-blower as a
reward, and the fellow immediately swallowed it and became the most
beautiful man in the world.
    The next time he called upon Miss Mydas there was no dog to bark at
him, and when the young lady saw him she fell in love with his
beauty at once.
    "If only you were a count or a prince," she sighed, "I'd willingly
marry you."
    "But I am a prince," he answered; "the Prince of Dogblowers."
    "Ah!" said she; "then if you are willing to accept an allowance of
four dollars a week I'll order the wedding cards engraved."
    The man hesitated, but when he thought of the rope hanging from his
bedpost he consented to the terms.
    So they were married, and the bride was very jealous of her
husband's beauty and led him a dog's life. So he managed to get into
debt and made her miserable in turn.
*
    As for the glass dog, the wizard set him barking again by means of
his wizardness and put him outside his door. I suppose he is there
yet, and am rather sorry, for I should like to consult the wizard
about the moral to this story.

The Queen of Quok
*
    A king once died, as kings are apt to do, being as liable to
shortness of breath as other mortals.
    It was high time this king abandoned his earth life, for he had
lived in a sadly extravagant manner, and his subjects could spare
him without the slightest inconvenience.
    His father had left him a full treasury, both money and jewels being
in abundance. But the foolish king just deceased had squandered
every penny in riotous living. He had then taxed his subjects until
most of them became paupers, and this money vanished in more riotous
living. Next he sold all the grand old furniture in the palace; all
the silver and gold plate and bric-a-brac; all the rich carpets and
furnishings and even his own kingly wardrobe, reserving only a
soiled and moth-eaten ermine robe to fold over his threadbare
raiment. And he spent the money in further riotous living.
    Don't ask me to explain what riotous living is. I only know, from
hearsay, that it is an excellent way to get rid of money. And so
this spendthrift king found it.
    He now picked all the magnificent jewels from this kingly crown and
from the round ball on the top of his scepter, and sold them and
spent the money. Riotous living, of course. But at last he was at
the end of his resources. He couldn't sell the crown itself, because
no one but the king had the right to wear it. Neither could he sell
the royal palace,